Carton hand hole protection

ABSTRACT

A hand hole protector comprising a central and a pair of end panels foldably interconnected and formed in the top wall of a carton. These panels are foldably connected to the remainder of the carton through the central panel whereby said protective panels can be folded into the carton to form an access opening. Folding of the panels to form an access opening causes the end panels to contact the tops of a pair of adjacent bottles and be folded relative to the central panel to protect the access opening on three sides.

United States Patent 91 Akkerman 11 3,744,709 [451 July 10,1973

CARTON HAND HOLE PROTECTION [75] Inventor: Allardus A. Akkerman,Calgary,

[22] Filed: Apr. 14, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 244,076

[52] US. Cl. 229/52 BC, 220/105, 229/51 TS [51] Int. Cl B65d 5/46 [58]Field of Search 229/52 BC, 52 B, 229/40, 51 T8; 220/102, 105

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,718,301 9/1955 Palmer229/52 B X 2,830,726 5/1958 Foster 229/52 BC X 2,850,206 9/ 1958 Pasjack220/105 3,015,432 1/1962 Tyrseck 229/52 B 3,078,032 2/1963 Robinson etal. 229152 B 3,283,990 11/1966 Tolaas 229/40 R 3,459,328 8/1969 Rowley229/52 B X 3,469,736 9/1969 Walker 229/52 B X 3,498,496 3/1970 Edwards229/52 B X 3,553,549 10/ 1970 Gilchrist 229/51 T S FOREIGN PATENTS ORAPPLICATIONS 829,725 12/1969 Canada 229/52 DC Primary Examiner-Davis T.Moorhead Attorney-C. A. Rowley [57] ABSTRACT A hand hole protectorcomprising a central and a pair of end panels foldably interconnectedand formed in and be folded relative to the central panel to protect theaccess opening on three sides.

6 Claims, 13 Drawing Figures PAIENIEDJUUOBH 3.744709 sum 2 OF 2 'iaq yzaFIG. /3

.1 CARTON HAND HOLE PROTECTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION DESCRIPTION OF THEPRIOR ART Generally, cartons for containing a dozen bottles have beenprovided with a handle conveniently located to permit the purchaser toeasily carry the carton filled or empty. Early handle cartons wereconventional cartons with top and bottom closure flaps provided with acentral partition having a hand hole therein. Access to the hand holewas provided through the top flaps so that one could reach into thecarton and grip the handle. This carton was replaced by a carton havinga handle movable from an inoperative position within the confines of thecarton to an operative position spaced thereabove. With the advent ofend loading equipment in the industry, end loading cartons havingcentral partitions and handle members formed by extensions of thecentral partitions and generally part of the top panel, and wherein thehandle is movable to an operative position above the carton have beenused. It has further been proposed to provide a hand hole in an outsidewall so that ones hand would extend through the outside wall to engageand support the carton through this wall.

In all of the above structures, with the exception of the early ones,care was taken to ensure that ones knuckles did not contact the caps ofthe bottles, i.e. by making the handle retractable or by reaching inthrough an outside wall wherein the knuckles face outwardly and do notcontact the bottle caps. It has been proposed to provide a handle in thecentral partition of an end loading carton, however, until the presentinvention there was no means available to safeguard knuckles, and thusthe proposal of using a hand hole in the. central partition was notreadily acceptable to the brewing industry.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is thus the main object of the presentinvention to provide a carton incorporating protecting panels whichprotect the knuckles when the hand is in carrying position extendingthrough a hand hole in a central partition.

Another problem with such early boxes was to obtain an access openinglarge enough to permit the hand to slide easily into the container andgrip the hand hole in the central partition. The proximity of the packedbottles severely limited the size of opening that could be providedwhile permitting the flap covering the opening to be pushed into thecontainer.

It is thus another object of the present invention to provide an accesspassage through the container to the hand hole in the central partitionthat is sufficiently large to easily accommodate the average hand.

Broadly, the present invention relates to a carton blank and a cartonhaving a central partition with a hand hole extending therethrough, aplurality of protecting panels foldably interconnected and foldablyconnected to the top wall of the carton via an elongated connectingflap, the protecting panels being movable from a position substantiallyflush with the top wall enclosing an access opening to an open positionwherein said panels are forced into said opening. The protecting panelsare proportioned so that a central one passes between a pair of adjacentbottles while panels on opposite sides of the central panel contactbottle caps and fold relative to the central panel. A connecting flappreferably connects the central panel to the top wall and is positionedto extend between a pair of adjacent bottles in the carton so that whenthe protecting panels are moved to their open position the flap pivotsdown between a pair of adjacent bottles to better position theprotecting panels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Further features, objects andadvantages will be evi dent from the following detailed description of apre ferred embodiment of the present invention when taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a blank incorporating the present invention,

FIG. 2 illustrates the first folding step in gluing of the blank,

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the glued blank in knockeddown condition,

FIG. 4 is an isometric view illustrating the carton in erected position,

FIG. 5 is a partial isometric view illustrating the knuckle protectingpanels and access opening in operative open position,

FIG. 6 is a partial plan view of a carton with the access opening inopen position,

FIG. 7 is a view along the line 7-7 of FIG. 5,

FIG. 8 shows a plan view of a modified version of the present invention,

FIG. 9 illustrates yet another modification of the instant invention,

FIG. 10 is a partial sectional view illustrating protecting panelsfolding into operative position, 7

FIG. 11 is a view along the line 11-11 of FIG. 10,

FIG. 12 is a partial sectional view of the arrangement of FIG. 9 showingthe protectionpanels folding into operative position,

FIG. 13 is a partial sectional view along the line 13-l3 of FIG. 12.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The blank 10 of FIG. 1 iscomposed of a first bottom panel 12, a first side panel 14, a top panel16, a second side panel 18, a second bottom panel 20, partition panel22, and a glue flap 24 arranged in side-by-side relationship andinterconnected by means of parallel fold lines 26, 28, 30, 32, 34 and 36respectively. Suitable end closure flaps 38, 40, 42, 44 and 46 arefoldably connected one to each end of the panels 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20respectively by parallel fold lines 48 and 50.

Panels 52, 54 and 56 foldably interconnected by fold lines 58 and 60 aredefined in partition panel 22 by a line of severance 62 and fold line 64which foldably connects the panel 54 to the remainder of the partitionpanel 22. These panels 52, 54 and 56 are adapted to be folded out of thepartition panel 22 by folding along the fold line 64 to form a hand hole66 (see FIG. 7) in the partition panel 22 as will be described in moredetail hereinbelow.

Opening panels 68, 70, 72 and 74 are formed in the top panel 16 and theadjacent side panels 14 and 18. These opening panels 68, 70, 72 and 74in the illustrated embodiment will remain foldably connected to the toppanel 16 by fold lines 76, 78, 80 and 82 respectively, while theremaining peripheries of these panels will be freed from theirrespective panels 16, 14 and 18 when the carton is opened. Thus, thesepanels 68, 70, 72 and 74 are foldably connected to the top panel by foldlines 76, 78, 80 and 82 and are releasably held to the panels 16, 14 and18 by lines of severance 84, 86, 88 and 90 respectively. It will beapparent that it is possible to combine the panels 68 and 70 and thepanels 72 and 74 so that only one opening panel is provided on each sideof the carton. For example, the panels 68 and 70 may be combined byjoining the fold lines 76 and 78 and having a single U-shaped line ofseverance beginning at one end of the combined fold line and terminatingat the other. In an alternative arrangement where more stacking strengthis desired it would be preferable to locate the fold lines 76, 78, 80and 82 at the opposite sides of their respective panels 68, 70, 72 and74 so that these panels after opening would remain connected to the sidepanels 14 and 18, i.e. the fold lines 76, 78, 80 and 82 would be on theside panels 14 and 18.

In the FIG. 1 arrangement a connecting flap 92 has its side edgesdefined by the lines of severance 88 and 90 and is connected at one endto the side wall panel 18 via fold line 30. The other end of flap 92 isconnected to a protecting panel 94 by a fold line 96. This protectingpanel 94 is in turn connected to a pair of end protecting panels 98 and100 by fold lines 102 and 104 respectively. Fold lines 102 and 104 inthe illustrated arrangement are substantially parallel to one anotherand substantially perpendicular to the fold line 96, however, they neednot be parallel or extend at exactly 90 to the fold line 96. It ispreferred, however, that they be at approximately 90 to the fold line 96but may slope in towards each other or flare outwardly to some, thoughminor, extent. The outer periphery of the panels 94, 98 and 100 aredefined by a line of severance 106 which extends laterally at about thecentre line of the panel 16, each end of line 106 curves away from thecentre line toward the fold line 30 and then is directed back toward theother end to terminate adjacent fold line 96 and fold lines 102 or 104to permit the panels 94, 98 and 100 to be folded to a positionsubstantially perpendicular to the flap 92 along the fold line 96 andrelative to each other along lines 102 and 104.

To form a box, adhesive is applied along the end edge of the panel 12 asindicated at 108 and to the flap 24 as indicated at 110. The blank isfolded along fold line 32 so that the panels and 22 overlie the panels18 and 16 with the flap 24 contacting the panel 16 between the foldlines 76 and 80 and 78 and 82 thereby securing the panel 22 along themid-line of the panel 16 (see FIG. 2). Next, the panels 14 and 12 arefolded relative to the remainder of the carton along fold line 28 sothat the panel 14 overlies the panels 16 and 22 and the adhesive 108 onthe panel 12 overlaps and secures the panel 12 to the panel 20 (see FIG.3).

As can be seen in FIG. 4, in the resultant box the central partitionpanel 22 is secured to the top panel 16 by flap 24. This flap extendsalong substantially the full length of the top panel 16 and positionsthe partition panel 22 relative to the line of severance 106 to permit ithe panels 94, 98 and 100 to be folded into the box to an open operativeposition as will be described hereinbelow. It can further be seen fromFIG. 4 that it is a simple matter now to load the carton by sliding thebottles or the like in through the open end of the carton.

To provide access to the hand hole 66 the panels 94, 98 and are pushedinto the carton thereby separating them from the top panel 16 along theline of severance 106 and pivoting same relative to connecting flap 92along fold line 96. The connecting flap 92 is narrower than the spacingbetween the crowns of adjacent bottles packaged within the carton and ispositioned so that it can be moved into the carton between a pair ofadjacent bottles. As the panels 94, 98 and 100 are moved into the cartonby insertion of the hand the panels 98 and 100 contact adjacent bottlesand are folded relative to the panel 94 along fold lines 102 and 104respectively whereby the panels 98, 94 and 100 provide a protective wallencircling the access opening 112 on three sides (see FIG. 5). Thesepanels 94, 98 and 100 thus provide a protective wall between ones handand the adjacent bottles ensuring that ones knuckles are not cut by thecaps of the bottles in the carton when reaching in or retracting oneshand from the hand hole 66 (see FIG. 6).

As can be seen from FIG. 7, the hand hole 66 is formed by folding thepanel 54 relative to the partition panel 22 along fold line 64. Thepanels 52 and 56 contact adjacent bottles and are folded along foldlines 58 and 60 which permit the combined panels 52, 54 and 56 to bepivoted along fold line 64 to open the full width of the hand hole 66and thereby properly accommodate the hand.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, modifications of the protective panelsand their connection to the remainder of the carton have beenillustrated.

In the FIG. 8 arrangement, the protection device comprises a centralpanel 200 and a pair of end panels 202 and 204 connected to the centralpanel 200 by fold lines 206 and 208 respectively. The panel 200 is inturn connected to the top 210 of the carton by fold line 212. It will benoted that in this FIG. 8 arrangement there is no connecting flapextending between the protection panels and connecting same to the topwall or side wall of the carton.

In the FIG. 9 arrangement, a connecting flap 214 is provided, this flapbeing foldably connected to the remainder of the box along the comerfold between the top panel and one of the side walls and connected tothe central panel 216 by fold line 218. As in the previous embodiments,a pair of end protective panels 220 and 222 are connected to oppositesides of the central panel 216 by fold lines 224 and 226 respectively.In the FIG. 9 arrangement, however, the end protective panels 220 and222 project beyond the fold line 218 connecting the central panel to theconnecting flap 214 so that the panels 220 and 222 are longer laterallyof the box than the panel 216 and thus provide further protection andnormally will have their top edges above the top of the carton when thepanels 216, 220 and 222 are moved into the carton to open the accessopening.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show the position of the bottles 228 in dotted lines; itwill be seen that the fold lines 206 and 208 and the fold lines 224 and226 are between the tops 230 of adjacent bottles (the fold lines 102 and104 of the FIG. 1 embodiment were similarly positioned with respect tobottles).

In opening of the access opening in the FIG. 8 arrangement, pressure isapplied to the central panel 200 which pivots this panel relative to thetop wall 210 on fold line 212. This pivoting movement of the centralpanel 200 also moves the end panels 202 and 204 which contact the tops230 of adjacent bottles 228 and are folded on fold lines 206 and 208relative to the central panel 200 (see FIGS. 10 and 11).

The FIG. 9 embodiment operates similarly to the FIGS. 1 and 8embodiments but is closer to the FIG. 1 embodiment. To open the accessopening of the FIG. 9 embodiment the panels 216, 220 and 222 are pushedin by folding relative to connecting flap 214 along fold line 218 andwhereby connecting flap 214 pivots out of the plane of the top of thecarton between a pair of adjacent bottles 228 on the fold line at thetop corner of the carton. This movement of the panels 216, 220 and 222causes the panels 220 and 222 to engage the tops 230 of the adjacentbottles 228 and to be folded relative to the panel 216 on their foldlines 224 and 226 respectively. This construction utilizing theconnecting flap 214 permits the edges of panels 216, 220 and 222 toproject deeper into the carton and permits these panels to lie atdifferent angles to the central partition than was possible with theFIG. 8 arrangement and thereby provide better protection.

The connecting flap arrangement of FIGS. 1 and 9 is preferred to thearrangement of FIG. 8 as it permits the protective panels to projectdeeper into the carton and better ensure that one's knuckles are notcaught under the free edge of these protective panels when trying towithdraw the hand from the hand hole in the central partition.Furthermore, it helps to ensure that ample room is available to insertthe hand and carry the carton after the closure flaps have been foldedin against the partition panel. This is particularly important in thearrangement where one closure flap on each side rather than two isemployed.

' In each of the embodiments the central and end protective panelscombine to form three sides of an access passage when the access opening112 is formed. 6 Having described the invention and severalmodifications thereof further modifications will be evident to thoseskilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention asdefined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A carton for necked bottles comprising; side walls, end walls, a topwall, a bottom wall, a longitudinally extending partition, a hand holein said partition adjacent said top wall, a central protective panel anda pair of end protective panels formed in said top wall, fold linesinterconnecting said end protective panels to opposite sides of saidcentral panel, a foldable connecting means connecting said central panelto said carton, said protective panels being positioned on said top walladjacent said hand hole and arranged in said top wall so that each ofsaid end protective panels overlies the top of one of a pair of adjacentbottles whereby the folding of said central panel relative to said topwall on said foldably connecting means forces said end protective panelsinto contact with the tops of said pair of adjacent bottles; and foldssaid end protective panels relative to said central panel on their foldline connections to said central panel.

2. A carton as defined in claim 1 wherein said foldably connecting meanscomprises; a connecting flap and a fold line connecting said connectingflap to said central panel.

3.A carton as defined in claim 2 wherein said foldable connecting meansfurther comprises a second fold line substantially parallel to said foldline connecting said flap to said central panel connecting said flap tosaid carton.

4. A carton defined in claim 2 wherein said fold lines interconnectingsaid protective panels are substantially perpendicular to said fold lineconnecting said central panel with said connecting flap.

5. A carton for necked bottles comprising; foldably interconnectedbottom, top and side walls, a partition panel connected to said top andbottom walls, means defining a hand hole in said partition paneladjacent said top wall, a central and a pair of end protective panelsformed in said top wall adjacent said hand hole, said protective panelsbeing positioned in side-byside relationship, fold lines interconnectingend protective panels with said central protective panel, a connectingflap defined in said top panel by a pair of spaced substantiallyparallel lines of severance, said lines of severance being spaced adistance less than the distance between the necks of a pair of adjacentof said bottles in said carton, said flap is positioned to be foldeddown between necks of a pair of adjacent of said bottles when saidcarton has been loaded while said end protective panels are positionedto contact the tops of said pair of adjacent bottles and a fold lineconnecting one end of said connecting flap to said central protectivepanel.

6. A carton as defined in claim 5 wherein said fold linesinterconnecting said protective panels are substantially parallel andare substantially perpendicular to said fold line connecting saidcentral panel with said connecting flap.

1. A carton for necked bottles comprising; side walls, end walls, a topwall, a bottom wall, a longitudinally extending partition, a hand holein said partition adjacent said top wall, a central protective panel anda pair of end protective panels formed in said top wall, fold linesinterconnecting said end protective panels to opposite sides of saidcentral panel, a foldable connecting means connecting said central panelto said carton, said protective panels being positioned on said top walladjacent said hand hole and arranged in said top wall so that each ofsaid end protective panels overlies the top of one of a pair of adjacentbottles whereby the folding of said central panel relative to said topwall on said foldably connecting means forces said end protective panelsinto contact with the tops of said pair of adjacent bottles and foldssaid end protective panels relative to said central panel on their foldline connections to said central panel.
 2. A carton as defined in claim1 wherein said foldably connecting means comprises; a connecting flapand a fold line connecting said connecting flap to said central panel.3. A carton as defined in claim 2 wherein said foldable connecting meansfurther comprises a second fold line substantially parallel to said foldline connecting said flap to said central panel connecting said flap tosaid carton.
 4. A carton as defined in claim 2 wherein said fold linesinterconnecting said protective panels are substantially perpendicularto said fold line connecting said central panel with said connectingflap.
 5. A carton for necked bottles comprising; foldably interconnectedbottom, top and side walls, a partition panel connected to said top andbottom walls, means defining a hand hole in said partition paneladjacent said top wall, a central and a pair of end protective panelsformed in said top wall adjacent said hand hole, said protective panelsbeing positioned in side-by-side relationship, fold linesinterconnecting end protective panels with said central protectivepanel, a connecting flap defined in said top panel by a pair of spacedsubstantially parallel lines of severance, said lines of severance beingspaced a distance less than the distance between the necks of a pair ofadjacent of said bottles in said carton, said flap is positioned to befolded down between necks of a pair of adjacent of said bottles whensaid carton has been loaded while said end protective panels arepositioned to contact the tops of said pair of adjacent bottles and afold line connecting one end of said connecting flap to said centralprotective panel.
 6. A carton as defined in claim 5 wherein said foldlines interconnecting said protective panels are substantially paralleland are substantially perpendicular to said fold line connecting saidcentral panel with said connecting flap.